I don't recall the same level of hysteria when Eastmond went, and he's better than Joel Tomkins.

Yes but he was not the elder brother of the most over-hyped player in SL history.

Here's his quote then -



''And, if you try to keep a player who doesn't really want to be there, he's not going to perform at the highest level. It comes down to compensation and a quarter of a million pounds helps.''

Its more the partnership thing that people are bothered about and the fact that Sam is staying. Everyone has known Joel was going for weeks and he isnt in anyway the same talent as Eastmond or Sam.

Wigan fan through and through, but I don't blame Joel one bit. He's had several good years at Wigan and won every domestic competition. He's probably got less than a decade to earn his money so good luck to him.



That's not to say I'm not gutted - I'd love to have seen him develop as a centre or even better, back at 2nd Row doing what he does best.



But I don't really understand it. Where will he fit in at RU? Centre? No 8? I just don't see him offering anything particularly special to RU. And why Joel in particular? The whole thing smacks of RU wanting a RL 'name' - they've gone for Joel and Sam, Joel has gone for the cash, Sam has renegotiated a massive pay rise at Wigan.

he'll be a in RU

Quote Rommel="Rommel"Where does it say Wigan get £250k?'" news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_u ... 620047.stm Quote Rommel Wigan centre Joel Tomkins has completed his switch from league to union by joining Premiership champions Saracens. Warriors will be due compensation for the 24-year-old, who is contracted until 2015, =#800000with the move costing Saracens a reported £250,000.'"

Quote Rommel="Rommel"Where does it say Wigan get £250k?'" news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_u ... 620047.stm Quote Rommel Wigan centre Joel Tomkins has completed his switch from league to union by joining Premiership champions Saracens. Warriors will be due compensation for the 24-year-old, who is contracted until 2015, =#800000with the move costing Saracens a reported £250,000.'"

As a second row he's a big loss to our side



As a centre he's not much of a loss.



The big news today is Sam staying for at least 3 seasons. The loss of Joel created a major concern that Sam would follow after the Four Nations or possibly in 12 months but they've now been put to bed.



Time for Wigan to kick on now. We have some amazing young talent coming through like Matty Russell, Ryan King, Sam Powell, Jack Hughes and Greg Burke and they'll all hopefully feature in 2012.

No, he's signed an extension to his contract. That doesn't mean he won't be going to union in the next three years. I hope you're right and he does stay but contracts mean nothing. How long did Joel have left on his?



I'm not sure how much more binding this agreement to stay for three years is than a contract anyway. What's the difference?

It's a re-negotiated contract that makes Sam the highest paid player in rugby league. I doubt it's as much as Union could offer him though

Would Joel be in anyone's England team? He wouldn't get near mine so can't say I see him as a big loss.

I appreciate that but it's surely not just the money - the profile International RU players have is far higher.



I want him to stay in our game as I said. I'm just wondering about this extra agreement. Surely a contract on its own says "I will play for you for x years".